The Universe in a Single Arrow: A Live Dive into the Lambda Calculus
summary
Live coding uses constrained JavaScript arrow functions to model the lambda calculus and claims one tiny pure function yields full computation. The demo builds Church numerals, converters to JS numbers, and implements addition, multiplication, zero and edge cases, plus boolean encodings with if/then/else, not/or/and — all executed live and verified. Source notebook and examples live on GitHub gist. Expect concrete code, working results, and readable examples of encoding rather than high-level theory.
AI-written summary · about
chapters (11)
- 0:00Start
- 0:47Lambda Calculus
- 2:29The Recurse Center
- 3:24The Lambda Calculus
- 4:27What Is a Lambda in the in the Lambda Calculus
- 5:52Function Abstraction
- 6:18Identity Function
- 6:53Chaining Functions
- 13:27Church Numerals
- 23:51Logical Operators
- 25:24Or Operator
related talks
34mThe universe in a single arrow: A live dive into the lambda calculus
48mThe universe in a single arrow
59mLambda Calculus For People Who Can't Be Bothered to Learn It - part 1 of 2
48mIt’s birds all the way down: Fun Introduction to Lambda Calculus
53mExplaining Lambda Calculus through Plain JavaScript
01h 03mLambda Calculus For People Who Can't Be Bothered to Learn It - part 2 of 2
47mThere is a bluebird in my talk that wants to get out
43mWhat, if anything, is a llama?